Interview studies have indicated that some women are bothered by the emission of odor from their crotch region and particularly by the emission of vaginal odors which may be particularly noticeable during menstruation but which may be present at other times. A variety of measures have been suggested to control these odors, by the use of douches and by the use of deodorizing compounds applied, either internally or externally, to the body tissues or contained within tampons or sanitary pads for deodorizing body secretions themselves or preventing their breakdown or conversion to form odorous gas molecules. It has also been suggested to mask such odors, as by the use of perfumes, or the like.
Each of such previously suggested methods and means for odor control in the crotch region, however, requires either tampering with the normal body chemistry, as by douching or the application of deodorizing substances directly to bodily tissues, or the presence of an absorbent pad structure for absorbing body secretions and providing a chemical reaction with the absorbed secretions within the absorbent body while preventing normal ventilation of the crotch region. Masking the odors with perfumes, or the like, has other obvious disadvantages. Moreover, as has also been recognized, odors may be present at times other than menstruation and with the exception of the direct application of deodorizing compounds to the highly sensitive bodily tissues in the crotch region, whose presence could lead to further chemical imbalance and the continued production of objectionable odors, such nonmenstrual period odors have not heretofore been subject to control.